Today, a big difference in the workforce is how more and more of our information is handled via our smartphones. If your company doesn’t have its own branded employee app. Well, you could be falling behind on some of the best ways to digitally engage with your employees. In this post, we explore what a branded employee app brings to the table and who gets the most benefit from having an app in place.
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Book a demoHow many apps do you use on your phone? On your corporate internet? In 2021, it’s safe to say that apps make the world go round, whether it’s setting meetings on your Google Calendar, tracking your run on Strava, or creating new graphic assets on Canva. While you may have employees accessing their Word documents or checking their work email via mobile communications, what can really make a difference is an employee app. With a branded, first point of reference for all work-related items, actions, and activities, your own employee app can take your business’s employee engagement and efficiency to the next level.
Are you ready to roll out an employee app?
An employee mobile app is an app that your staff can download on their phone that contains personalized workplace and company information, activities, news, push notifications, and functions. It's accessible no matter whether an employee is in the office, out in the field, or at home.
“Changes in the workplace are being driven by employees with a consumer mindset. Many of these changes reflect consumer demands: a focus on individual choice, not “one size fits all”; flexible working processes that integrate with personal life; an experiential environment; and frictionless protocols that remove hassle from the workday.”
- How lessons learned in 2020 are accelerating the workplace of the future, EY
Employers, managers, HR and employees all have a significant amount to gain from an employee app. The benefits of an employee app are far-reaching across the organization, at all levels.
Let’s take a closer look.
For employers, the biggest benefit is that an app is a quicker, more effective and engaging way to communicate with employees. In terms of direct financial benefits, an app will help in reducing HR-related management costs.
For managers, an app provides a convenient and easy way to monitor and track employee performance in real time, no matter where they are managing from and whether they have access to company systems.
HR departments love employee apps as they allow them to perform their duties more efficiently and effectively, however that’s not all. With an employee app, HR has better tools in their toolbelt to promote and improve employee wellbeing and increase talent retention.
Employee apps benefit all employees with access to a smartphone, whether they’re FTE, part-time or casual workers, through to contractors. In terms of professions and responsibilities, apps are impactful across all teams and industries, including but not limited to healthcare, construction, retail, IT, and tourism. An app allows employees to check shifts, engage with other employees, onboard faster, and understand company, team, industry, and role specifics quickly.
Getting new employees onboarded can be a slow and painful process, involving an avalanche of paperwork and information. By giving new hires access to onboarding activities, forms, and information via an app they can get started early, everything lives in one place, and there is always that place of reference to go back to.
“Only 35% of employees agree the information they receive from HR is relevant and timely to them.” What Netflix Can Teach Us About Delivering HR, Gartner
Having a single, instant point of contact between staff makes communication error-free, referenceable, and time-sensitive. For employees, this means there is no barrier – they can get in touch quickly, even for casual conversations. Think of it as your new communications app.
Knowing who to find for the right information can be tricky unless you have met everyone within an organization and have a fantastic memory - which is near impossible to achieve. With a complete and organized employee directory, it’s simple to find others and ask questions.
Rostering visibility, transparency, and communication can be a sticky point in organizations. With intelligent and easily accessible (and changeable) rostering, an app ensures staff coverage and allows for the adoption of a more flexible work policy.
How is task-based work done within your workplaces? It’s not always efficient to have to view and tick off items from a desktop location. With an app, managers can assign tasks on the floor or on the go and employees can complete tasks in the field.
Of course, many companies are hesitant to implement these apps because they fear that security will be an issue. However, with enterprise-grade security in place, administrative user controls, and the right security architecture, having an employee app is no different in terms of operational security than your internal communication, technology and network configuration. With features such as multi-factor authentication, session timeouts, and built-in compliance such as HIPAA, you can feel at ease.
Want to know how to have a great reputation as an employer among your current team as well as prospective talent? Give them a great, branded employee experience - and an employee app can help alongside a thriving company culture.
“Employees who reported that they primarily work remotely expressed feeling nearly two times or 182% less engaged than workers who reported that they primarily work in person.”
- Emerging Data Suggests Remote Employees Are Less Engaged, Forbes
Communicate early, communicate often! Keeping your casual and remote worker team members in the loop about company goings on, their shifts, and their value to the company makes them feel more included. This takes a more hands on approach to reach employees whereas previously, these types of workers can feel like they aren’t being accounted for and aren’t being noticed. With remote work now more widespread than ever, this is an essential activity.
Building a custom employee app is expensive. That’s why CentricMinds offers a modular platform that allows you to create an immersive app experience all without writing a line of code. We can help walk you through the best way to configure your employee app to have the most resounding effects on employee happiness, information
Features available as part of the CentricMinds employee app include
With the right approach to bringing on an employee app, you’ll see immediate as well as ongoing benefits - no matter which industry you’re in, the type of work your teams do, and the size of your workforce. While every organisation’s employee app will differ in information, activities, push notifications, and functions, an app is there to help you to run your business more effectively.
Check out the Glossary to help you understand industry jargon and ideas
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